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Two interviews in one week

Last week was the busiest, I shipped my book to the UK, had my hands full in finishing up with some of the patients in the clinics, and I had a full week exams.

Two days ago I was called for an interview in my university, and I did another one yesterday, which was conducted online… It was just what I needed after having a long week, and I had fun doing both. Here’s one Which occurred yesterday, An interview by Adam A. Ameen… I hope you will enjoy it, and if you felt like it, you can ask me anything too.

Q: I read your blogs and I want to know, how did you go from not being interested in reading to writing?

A: Well… I took a summer course, which as you know, is boring… So as I was shopping, I saw a book, called The lake house by James Patterson, it was a thriller. I liked the synopsis, and it said don’t read it alone at home… so naturally I read it alone at home… and that’s when I realized the love of reading, It was better than the movies, because when you read, you are the director, and for us, our imagination is the best.

Which brings us to writing, I saw my potentials when I gave my ideas to students who were discussing making a movie, I saw my self like the writers I admired… and one day, I saw one of my ideas, the one published now, getting praises from many… so I started writing, and here I am

Q: But what made you think you were able to write a whole novel just from a single idea?

A: Well… the impact of the idea coursed me to believe I can… I saw people seeing potential in it. My idea kept growing until I had no choice but to let it flow out

Q: And did you have experience writing before?

A: Before I started my novel? No… I was the guy who didn’t do well in literature courses… But at the same time I was only writing to get grades and just pass, and not to express or to be creative… So my experience came later, with reading… and you can tell that you gained a lot because when you read your work after you are done, you’ll get to realize what it needs to be at THAT league, the league of the bestselling authors.

Q: So In that case I’m guessing you did research to plan your story?

A: Research is an understatement… I did more than that

Q: How so?

A: I read two books about body language and the art of persuasion, so I can master my dialogues and my characters. I read technological books, like Spy craft, books about technicality and tactics, I went around asking doctors and pharmacist some medical questions… and of course, the internet… My eyes boiled daily as I did my researches, it was an effort which I really really enjoyed… I forgot to mention that I also did research about history and locations, and, believe it or not, about luxury watches

Q: That’s really something, let me ask you this though. How did you know you, say halfway through the story, that your writing is good and not bad?

A: Well, I doubted my self many times, because I can’t be the one to judge, because its my book… so half way through I wasn’t sure, I was sure though after I finished and started reading. It was like reading another book, I found my self enjoying what I wrote, and that’s when I realized it’s really good, by going back to my work as a stranger

Q: But were you completely detached from your work when you read it as just a reader?

A: You can’t tell… Which is why I got a second, third, and eventually, 20th or maybe more opinions… Even the greatest authors have to give their work to their agents before they approve to print their work. So When I saw that others loved it, I went for the process of publishing

Q: The most intriguing thing to me is: how did you fix the loopholes in your story after you were done and how did you make sure you tied all the loose ends? And more importantly how did you know you were done?

A: I made points before I started to write, and I read the book three times after I was done… So I guess its what did I do before I wrote and afterwards that made me sure I have tided all the loose ends.. and to be honest, I placed some ends further from this book to be tied later in the sequels.

Q: And did you ever think of putting anything of yours that you thought too controversial like something offensive, strong language or sex?

A: I don’t have to… you will always have readers thinking that way… some may see racism from a children’s book… which is why I went to avoid that by making my characters from more than one place, in a place where diversity exists, and most importantly, I wrote in the beginning of my novel

‘Good and Evil has no passport, it wears many skins, speaks in different tongues, and exists every where… even in the same person’